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DJ BINAIME, ESPN
CJ Stroud era After returning home from practice in Week 2, he decided to freshen up and started watching tape of the Chicago Bears’ defense.
Midway through the session, the Houston Texans second-year quarterback began texting a receiver group chat and winding down tight ends with thoughts on how to attack opponents.
Stroud included weekly cut-up clips sent to him by quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson and senior offensive assistant Bill Lazor to point out weaknesses in upcoming opponents.
“Get ready to run over the face of safety,” one message read, foreshadowing what would happen on the Texans’ lone touchdown as they went on to win 19-13.
In the second quarter, the Texans faced a 2nd-and-28 from the Bears’ 28-yard line after wide receiver Nico Collins was penalized for hitting Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik thought the Bears would run two high safeties, possibly running cloud coverage (Cover 6), and called a play that was discussed in the group chat.
Collins was an isolated wideout and earned the spot. When Stroud took the snap, the defensive coverage unfolded as expected. Collins crossed the face of safety Kevin Byard III and found a window behind linebacker Tremaine Edmunds as Stroud passed for the score.
This has been the routine for Stroud and his playmakers since he was elevated to starting pitcher. He sent texts Wednesday through Saturday explaining how he would attack the upcoming defense, something he first started doing at Ohio State.
“I wanted to bring it to the league and see if it would work, and it did,” Stroud told ESPN. “I just want to continue to do that, just trying to find out those little leverage clips and how the coverage operates and things like that.”
The group chat was a factor in Stroud’s early success (he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 and led the Texans to their first playoff win since 2019). In his second year, Houston got off to a 6-2 start and Stroud finished sixth in passing yards (1,948) and tied for 10th in touchdown passes (11).
The New York Jets are trailing Stroud and the Texans on “Thursday Night Football” (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime), and shorter weeks mean the text strings start earlier.
Over two seasons, the group studied a variety of defensive scenarios, from Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ Cover 0 offense method to New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen’s red zone Tampa 2 defense. He talked about it and even took advantage of the three-time All-Pro. Cornerback Patrick Peterson’s trail skills.
These weekly discussions helped build a connection between Stroud and Collins, who led the NFL in receiving yards (567) before being placed on injured reserve (hamstring) following the Texans’ Week 5 win over the Buffalo Bills.
DeMeco Ryans, also a second-year Texans coach, said the plan shows how much Stroud is “committed to winning.”
“I’ve played with a lot of different quarterbacks,” Ryans told ESPN. “Good guys do those things. Whether it’s having a group chat or getting a group together for a meeting and watching extra film on their own, that’s what great quarterbacks do. It’s all about addition.”
The idea started During the two years that Stroud was a starter at Ohio State (2021 and 2022). His receiver group included four future first-rounders: Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Instead of texting, we communicated via Snapchat.
“Everyone was using Snapchat,” Stroud told ESPN. “It was cool to talk about looks. And when you talk about it and it happens on set, it’s really awesome.”
Stroud threw for 85 touchdowns and 8,123 yards in college and finished second in the 2021 Heisman race. Harrison, Wilson, Olave and Smith-Njigba all had 1,000-yard seasons at Stroud.
“CJ, especially in his final year, was in control and made sure everyone was on the same page and doing what we needed to do,” said Smith-Njigba, a sophomore in Seattle. Seahawks. “It was kind of like a cheat sheet. It gave me confidence knowing that these guys knew what they were doing and what was expected of them.”
Texas practice squad wide receiver Xavier Johnson, a running back and receiver at Ohio State (2019-2023), said the chat helped him as well.
Johnson and Stroud talked about a play in the College Football Playoff opener on New Year’s Eve 2022 in which Johnson made a checkdown out of the backfield. They knew Georgia inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was in quarter coverage. You will face Johnson one-on-one.
Instead of checking, Johnson blew the seam past Dumas-Johnson. Stroud floated a 37-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in the second quarter to put Ohio State up 28-24.
“We saw that and knew they were doing what we wanted to do,” Johnson told ESPN. “It was kind of audible on a called play. I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ He said, ‘Let’s go.’ So we went with it.”
Ohio State lost 42-41 to the eventual national champions, but it was one of the most memorable games of Stroud’s career. He went 23 of 34 for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Four months later, Texas drafted him second overall.
Stroud did a variety of things. Despite entering training camp competing with incumbent starter Davis Mills, he sought to earn the trust of his teammates as a rookie.
Stroud hosted a bowling event for the attack. He flew the receiver to Los Angeles to run a UCLA route. He invited his team to cook with the chef or watch a movie. As the season began, Stroud added a group chat to build team chemistry.
“That’s cool, buddy.” Tight end Dalton Schultz told ESPN. “It’s a direct correlation to game day because it’s the looks we’re talking about. The whole discourse is just on the same page. … (Stroud) is a top teammate and he wants to win, especially when he’s so young and has leadership. This is amazing.”
Wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson’s favorite example from last season’s chat was Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Stroud texted the group about how Peterson likes to weaken the inside route. Peterson did just that to force an incompletion on a break-in route in the opener against San Francisco 49ers wideout Jauan Jennings.
“CJ has shown us that they are willing to lower prices if we make strong disclosures internally,” Hutchinson said. “(He said) if you keep going, eventually he’ll weaken you. If they weaken you, keep it hot. And you know what happened?”
Late in the fourth quarter, Peterson tried to weaken Collins, but caught him off guard by changing his route and cutting outside. Stroud delivered the ball and Collins scampered down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown for a 30-6 victory.
Veteran wideout Robert Woods’ touchdown against the Saints in Week 6 was Stroud’s favorite play. Schultz had a deep over route from the 6-yard line to the middle of the end zone and Woods had a drag route. Stroud told the chat that Saints middle linebacker Demario Davis would carry anything vertical when Allen called for the Tampa 2 base. Stroud expected Davis to cover Schultz to create space. He told Woods he would beat him if he sat in the hall.
“I sent that video in earlier this week, and I’m really happy to see how it turned out,” Stroud said. “I had that moment this year too.”
Chat was helpful They added rookie Stefon Diggs, who was acquired in a trade with the Bills last April, into the mix.
Unfortunately for the Texans, Diggs tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Texans’ 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Before the injury, Stroud’s passer rating was 104 and he completed 73% of his passes when targeting Diggs. Diggs ranks seventh on the team in catches (47) and second on Texas in receiving yards (496).
“(Diggs) could see what (Stroud) was seeing,” wide receiver Tank Dell said. “Of course we talk throughout practice, but we send video of the opposing team to actually see what they are doing and (he) sees what the 7s are thinking…. Steph tells (Stroud) what he sees and ( Stroud) ) tell him what he saw and they will make a play.”
Even in the Texans’ 34-7 loss to the Vikings in Week 3, chat communication helped Stroud and Diggs cut down a third when Diggs ran a slant route against Flores’ Cover 0 blitz, according to Woods. . Against the Colts, Diggs’ longest reception of the season (a 49-yard completion) came on a Stroud scramble with assistance from Chats.
“It’s about finding holes in the defense and knowing how the defense plays, staying alive and knowing that there are gaps in the defense that can be exposed when the quarterback leaves the pocket,” Woods said of using the scramble drill. . “We know how the safeties move, we know how the linebackers move, we know how to manipulate the defense.”
The biggest difference from the freshman and sophomore group chat is the addition of Diggs. But another change is the timing of the message.
According to Hutchinson, during his rookie year, Stroud texted him at any time of the day. But in his second year, Stroud tries to send most of his messages before it gets too late at night.
“This year I tend to wake up a little early. I’m resting a little more this year,” Stroud told ESPN with a smirk. “Last year I was a night owl. Now I’m learning to relax.”
One of Stroud’s favorite parts of the chat is the rapport it brings between offensive skill players. It reminds him of the camaraderie at Ohio State.
“The brotherhood in that room is similar to what I had in college with Garrett, Chris, Jackson, Marvin and even the walk-ons,” Stroud said. “Everyone was close, and I think that’s how they view this team.”
Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson contributed to this report.
